Last night, I saw Pee-Wee’s Playhouse Live! in downtown Los Angeles. From the moment Paul Reubens came onstage in his trademark grey suit and red bowtie and cried out gleefully, “Good morning, boys and girls!” it was a trip down memory lane. The set looked exactly like what I had remembered from the tv in my parents’ living room on Saturday mornings in the 80’s. Everyone was there — Chairy, Conky, Clocky, Terry, Randy. The original actors came back to play, Mailman Mike, Jambi, and Miss Yvonne (who sported a rather consipicuous make-up job that was supposed to create a “shadow” over her not-as-taut-as-it-used-to-be chin region). Busy on CSI, Laurence Fishburnes was unavailable to step in as Cowboy Curtis, but MadTV alum Phil LaMarr did a terrific job.
Overall, the show was definitely corny (something Pee-Wee readily admitted to in a Q&A session afterwards — I’ll get to that.) It was made for children of all ages and some of the jokes didn’t make me laugh quite as hard as I wanted to. His attempts to modernize the show by bringing in a sham-wow and a purity ring felt slightly out of place and not quite as timely as I like my comedy. But all the good old staples were there: King of Cartoons with a classic short, word of the day (Fun! aaaagh!), and letters from fans around the world (the one that got the biggest laugh was the letter from “Lou in prison” a subtle reference to Reubens’s past legal troubles).
All that being said, watching Paul Reubens play this iconic character from the third row was a master class for me as a comedian. The man has perfect comedic timing. Every little twitch of the face and inflection of the voice served the comedy. Whatever I thought of the show, Reubens’s performance was absolutely inspiring to me as a comedic actor.
After the show, I was one of about sixty people who got to stay in the theater for a Q&A session with Pee-Wee. A change of venue after tickets had been sold last summer created a total clusterfuck as all original ticket holders had to call back and rebuy their tickets for different dates and prices. To reward his “biggest fans” Pee-Wee invited those of us who had purchased tickets the first time around to stay and talk to him.
Out of character, Reubens was thoughtful and patient as he spoke for almost an hour. He found the kids in the audience first and interviewed them. I did get to ask the question “Will you be taking this show on tour?” My voice faltered with the first word and I had to clear my throat to get the rest of the sentence out. Because that’s what happens to me. The answer is no, by the way.
One of the most interesting responses he had was to the question, what do you like best about doing the show? Reubens said he loved the moment before a line came that he knew would get a laugh. Knowing that the audience was about to get a treat, made him happy. I completely identified with that. When I perform my one-woman show, it’s that feeling that gives me the high I love about performing. There is honestly nothing better and it’s why I do what I do.
P.S. I recently found out that my group with Fred Willard — the Moho’s — will be doing monthly shows in Hollywood! I get to play a model to his blind photographer in the first one. Can’t wait!
2 years ago